Can I Drive After My Breast Augmentation?

Have you just arranged your breast augmentation in Tampa? If so, you may be wondering whether you can drive afterward. There are lots of questions that patients who are planning this surgery commonly ask. It’s a major procedure that involves some recovery time. Therefore, knowing what to expect after your operation is very important. You need to know how to take care of yourself properly. This will help you to avoid undue suffering and enjoy a good recovery.

When it comes to driving, you’ll need to know when you’ll be able to hit the roads again. After all, driving is a fairly essential life skill for most people. So, it’s not too much of a surprise that it’s a common question. Here, we take a closer look at your driving post-surgery timeline.

Immediately Following Your Surgery

When you have breast augmentation surgery, you’ll have to have a general anesthetic. As a result, you’ll probably feel unsteady and groggy for a few hours afterward. This feeling will wear off over time, but you still shouldn’t drive home after your procedure. You should find somebody who can drive you to your appointment and, then, home again. Whenever possible, he or she should stay with you for 24 to 48 hours after your surgery.

Are You Taking Pain Medication?

Most women who have had breast augmentation surgery will receive pain medication to take afterward. This will minimize your discomfort while you’re recovering from your procedure. However, it will also slow your reaction times and impair your hand-eye coordination. As a result, you’d have a higher risk of an accident on the roads. Therefore, while you’re still taking pain medication, you should avoid driving. How long will you need those medications? For most patients, it will be somewhere between one and two weeks.

When Can I Drive Again?

Once you’re no longer taking pain medications, you may rush to jump behind the wheel again. However, take care. You may find that driving causes you more pain than you expected. If you’re experiencing pain when you try to turn the wheel, you should refrain from driving. Once you’re free of any pain and feel up to it, you can drive again. But you may want to have another driver in the car with you the first few times. You may find it awkward to turn your shoulders and head to check on drivers behind you. It would help to have another person on hand to check for other drivers on your behalf. You should also avoid any long trips for a few weeks after your surgery.

Getting Your Surgeon’s Green Light

In most cases, it’s wise to wait until your surgeon gives you the green light before you start driving again. After all, your safety and the safety of your passengers and other road users is paramount. Your surgeon will be able to give you tailored advice to suit your circumstances. When you attend your follow-up appointments after surgery, you can ask your surgeon’s opinion about when you can drive again.

Planning Your Breast Augmentation Surgery

If you haven’t yet arranged your breast augmentation in Tampa, you should contact the Artlipo team. We are experts in the cosmetic surgery field and have years of experience. We can answer your questions and offer you advice tailored to your needs. We can also arrange your first consultation with our talented surgeon. You can rest assured you’ll be in very safe hands with us.

Whether you’ve decided that breast augmentation is for you, or whether you’re just curious, feel free to call us. We’ll help you to determine the right procedure to suit your needs so you can achieve the figure you desire.

Dr. Hamwi is an aesthetic plastic surgeon specializing in cosmetic surgical and non-invasive procedures. After completing residencies in both plastic surgery and general surgery as well as a fellowship at Harvard University, Dr. Hamwi then went on to pursue an aesthetic surgery fellowship at one of the country’s most competitive programs in Manhattan, New York. Less than one percent of plastic surgeons have completed such specialized training.